Futuristic Hongqi B Concept Comes With Its Own Tea Set

Hongqi, one of the biggest and most historic brands in the domestic Chinese market, revealed the B Concept at the Beijing Motor Show.
The B Concept is supposedly previewing Hongqi’s will to offer a large sedan below the mighty L5. The car is strictly a four-seater, with a large center console running through the cabin.
The dashboard is littered with digital displays, including the steering wheel which clearly was inspired by the Knight Rider series. But, and despite the high-tech spaceship atmosphere up front, Hongqi added a traditional tea set for the rear passengers, just to restore the balance inside.
The front end is dominated by a very Audi-ish front grille with the rear hosting the taillights under a clear cover. The front and rear bumpers look almost the same, featuring a single big air intake. Hongqi also added a very original set of wheels.
Rumors suggest that the production version of the B Concept will be actually based on the Audi A6L platform which is offered exclusively in the Chinese market by FAW-Volkswagen, with FAW being the parent company of Hongqi.

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Isuzu Launches Badass D-Max AT35 With The Kind Help Of Arctic Trucks

Isuzu and Arctic Trucks teamed up for the creation of the most capable D-Max pickup truck you can buy straight out of a dealership.
Built to tackle the harshest of the Icelandic terrain, the new Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 features a revamped suspension setup with Fox Performance shocks and a set of huge 35in off-road tires, wrapped around 17x10 wheels.
The much bigger wheels dictated the use of wider, extended flares giving the D-Max AT35 a truly menacing look. The ride height has been increased by 125mm thanks to all these revisions, allowing for insane approach, departure and break-over angles.
Under the bonnet, Isuzu’s bigfoot truck is powered by the same 2.5-litre turbodiesel engine that powers the rest of the range, producing 163PS and 400Nm of torque mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. Customers will be able to choose between double-cab and extended-cab configurations. Double-cab models can also be equipped with an optional five-speed automatic gearbox.
Drivers can switch between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive via the selector dial located on the centre console, with a low-ratio function also present.
The Isuzu D-Max AT35 is going to be the first Arctic Truck to be officially offered though a brand’s official dealer network. With prices starting at £30,995 in the UK market, the new Isuzu D-Max AT35 is definitely one of the coolest trucks you can buy right now straight from a dealership.

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Official: Mercedes E-Class Long Wheelbase

The 2016 Beijing Motor Show, or Auto China as they call it, saw the debut of an elongated version of the world’s most important executive sedan. The sedan in question is the Mercedes E-Class Long Wheelbase which comes boasting an extra 134 mm of rear leg room.

The Chinese market has always been keen on long wheel base vehicles, not because they actually need the extra room, but rather because of image. It’s a twisted variant of the ‘bigger is better’ school of thought they are fond of over there. So the new Mercedes E-Class Long Wheelbase is expect to go down really well in that market as it is a full 5 meters long – 140mm longer than the standard version.

The 2017 Mercedes E-Class Long Wheelbase will launch in china in two saloon and sports saloon, with the main difference being in the shape of the front grille. Standard is the smooth 9G-TRONIC and all the other comfort and safety features the normal E-Class can be specified with, but the LWB comes with a 64-color LED interior ambient lighting system and a special folding centre armrest for the rear seats.

Among the main highlights of this folding armrest there are illuminated stowage compartment, USB ports, integral touchscreen, Wireless charging of the mobile phone, heated pad, and extended cup holders with temperature control on request, so you can make a cup of tea back there.

Official: Porsche 718 Cayman

So a few months after the debut of the 718 Boxster, Porsche now drops the official material on that car’s hardtop sister, the new Porsche 718 Cayman. The sports coupe gets the same four-cylinder turbo engine as its topless sis, and but slightly different dynamic characteristics. 

That of course means the 2017 Porsche 718 Cayman comes in two normal and S variants, with the former boasting a 2.0 liter 300hp flat-turbo-four (250hp in the Chinese market), whereas the latter gets a 2.5 liter unit with 350hp. The S version also gets turbocharger with variable turbine geometry (VTG) which it borrows from the 911 Turbo.

That means Porsche 718 Cayman S also packs 420 Nm of torque, and that results in a sprint from zero to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds (PDK + SportChrono package) and a top speed of 285 km/h. The new model also features high-end technologies such as Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) and PASM with 10mm lower ride height, but compared with the Boxster, it’s the sold roof that makes the Cayman a bit more rigid and therefore a tiny bit better around corners. That’s pretty much all the difference.

To be honest we would happily trade better cornering for open-top fun of the Boxster. What’s more, the Boxster seems to us a bit better looking as well. It is as if Porsche has a tendency to make every other Cayman an ugly car. So while the previous model was a looker, this one just seems a bit odd. The insistence on drawing inspiration from the original 718 hasn’t really worked in favor of the modern 718 models. 

2017 Audi TT RS Goes Official

After months of hearing nothing but rumors and seeing nothing but grainy spy photos finally we get to see the new 2017 Audi TT RS in all its official glory. The high-performance TT comes, like its predecessor, is both coupe and convertible guises and packs a delicious 400 horsepower.

Four-hundred ponies in a compact sports car! Audi has really pulled out all the stops to make sure the new TT RS is as serious as cars of this class come. The source of that power is new five-cylinder aluminum engine sending its 400 hp and 480 Nm (354.0 lb-ft) of torque to all four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and quattro AWD.

The result is that the 2017 Audi TT RS (coupe) can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in an amazing 3.7 seconds (3.9 for the roadster) and if you cheat the speed limiter, which Audi themselves do for some extra cash, reach 280 km/h. Of course, such awesome turn of speed does not come without compromises, and the biggest compromise of all in this car is a very stiff chassis.

Now, that’s good for cornering and stuff, but on the road, for going to the shops, that often means a terrible ride. Still, 2017 Audi TT RS comes with stuff like grippy sport steering wheel, low-mounted sport seat, aluminum or carbon trim elements and RS logos, and RS exhaust system to remind you that if it’s comfort you want, get a regular version. This one if for the hard-core TTies!

Official: 2017 Lexus IS Facelift

Turns out our speculations about the new 2017 Lexus IS after seeing its teaser picture were spot on. The car’s got only a slight facelift, and it’s made it even weirder than before. The new version comes with a more baffling face than before, and that’s about it.

So the new stuff you get with the 2017 Lexus IS facelift includes a pair of massive air intakes up front and some new headlights which are supposed to complement the unique L-shaped LEDs under neath and that huge spindle grille, and new rectangular exhaust tips out back. Anyone with properly functioning eyes would agree that this thing is far from beautiful. But it doesn’t matter.

The current IS, which is pretty much identical to this new facelift model, has been such a success that changing it would have been an act of sheer stupidity. People obviously like the weird and wonderful design of the IS, so why take it away from them? That is why the new version gets only a little nip and tuck to keep things fresh for another couple of years.

In terms of options and features and powertrains, 2017 Lexus IS continues as before, offering a range of F Sport options for those who are not satisfied with the standard version, and three engines include the 2.0 liter turbo with an 8-speed automatic transmission. The car also comes with Lexus Safety System + combining Pre-Collision System, Lane Departure Alert (LDA) with Steering Assist, Automatic High Beam (AHB) and Radar Cruise Control.